Thorn of a Rose
by Nicolesque
Summary: With a pleasure so beautiful, there is bound to be pain. Both Vegeta and Bulma collide in a way that they were never prepared for, resulting in something that neither expected. B/V Three years fic through their eyes, starting in the middle with the past in italics.
1. Through a Window

Autumn was coming. The fatal climax to a sweltering, long summer with too much sun and too little to do with myself. Winds and drops in temperature would sweep away the life of the leaves, plummeting them into the deadening blankets of pale yellow grass. Then, very faintly in West City, hints of snow would drop in the form of whispering snowflakes that would burst into droplets of ice upon contact with one's uncovered face and hands.

I was not looking forward to it, as the change in weather also marked a current change in my life love.

What once was heated and passionate is now turning to silent ice. The unforeseen magic in the way things happened between us is now painfully evident to me more than ever. The beauty of it was, I never saw it coming. Me, the scientist and master calculator, could not put two and two together to see that my heart was destined to be broken in such a violent and unpredictable tryst with a violent and unpredictable man.

Let's face it; I was a moth to the flame, a wolf to undead meat that suddenly sprang up and ate the wolf instead. I thought I was so clever, so cunning in landing someone who obviously had little to no emotional attachments in his life.

But little did I ever come to think that maybe, just MAYBE Bulma, there was a reason for that.

So here I am, at my bedroom window with nothing but sighs in between bouts of anger, sadness, and absolute confusion as what to do about this.

He's been holed up in his stupid gravity chamber for days. He only demands my father repair whatever goes wrong, and then I have to hear from my chortling mother about how hard he's working because it just seems to take my father away from her at least five hours every other day. If he eats, he only does so when he knows I'm not around.

Or maybe he really just doesn't care THAT much to avoid me. Maybe he's just completely forgotten that night...

But how?! It doesn't make sense to me. Any other guy on this planet would KILL to have such a night with me, and they wouldn't act like such an insensitive jerk afterwards either.

That's the thing. He isn't any other guy. And he has killed before, many times, one those times being my ex-boyfriend.

Oh, the irony. Not only did I specifically wish to have a Prince of my own someday, but he managed to kill the one person I thought I ever loved in the process of breaking my heart. I can see his eyes now as he did so, cold and bloodthirsty as he watched Yamcha get slaughtered by a Saibaman and heated and ravenous as he stole my innocent self-preservation.

Then my heart stopped, the retospective thoughts encircling my mind coming to a complete halt. There he was! His hair reaching high in the sun-showered sky, his face upward in his arrogant confidence, shoulders back and built like the rest of his iron physique. And those eyes, those obsidian holes of mystique and the occasional shadow of an emotion, but mostly the icy superiority that pierces and steals any confidence one might have while simultaneously posing as menacing threats to their survival..

Which I knew because they were staring right into me through my window.


	2. When Blue Meets Black

The frustration that raged in me from the apparent futility of my daily exertions increased tenfold when I suddenly looked up from my pursuit to the kitchen to see those fucking eyes gleaming so obnoxiously with an enigmatic longing from her bedroom window. I made sure to meet them with as much loathing as possible, hoping to scare her asinine stare away from me.

Of course, it went without success, much like my training, which only made me fume even more. The onna was a stubborn little bitch, used to getting what she wanted without having to fight for it like I had all my life. My eyes narrowed in on her, making her roll her eyes before she finally vanished from my sight.

My nostrils flared as the hazy memory of my first day entering the vicinity of her facility burned itself back onto my brain, making it pulse with the pain of utter annoyance...

_"Oh, my! Who's this handsome hunk?" The harshest high-pitched screech rang through the air, breaking through my concentrated scan of my new and unfamiliar surroundings. My eyebrows instantly burrowed, feeling every vein pump in self-defense to the sound._

_"Psh, Mom, that's just Vegeta. He's going to be staying with us while we prepare for the Androids," came the woman as she swept a dismissive hand through the air, walking towards me in some ridiculously revealing dress. Her gaze laid into me as I scowled back, not at all pleased with the banshee she called her mother. "Come on, I wanna give you a grand tour!"_

_I scoffed. Naturally, I was not at all impressed with the place. It was no palace by my galactic standards of having been to every corner of outer space and seen the utmost displays of royalty that existed. Alas, being human prevented her from even realizing such existed, so she was completely ignorant to the worlds beyond her own. _

_"What you can give me is a grand tour to either a training facility or the Kami-damn exit."_

_Immediately, she placed her balled fists on her hips as her face turned into a sour scowl much like my own. "I'm the host here, I invited you here, so I want to show you where everything is Mister No-Manners! UGH."_

_"Fine. If this results in a decent meal, then so be it. I will require all the nutrition necessary to allow me to ascend past Kakarot!"_

_She raised a slim, turquoise eyebrow. "Then follow me and stop being so rude."_

_"Hmpf." I followed her with arms crossed, but only because I was famished from dying and coming back to life on Namek. My eyes resumed their intake of the place, noting the cleanliness and technological appliances as we entered the building._

_She opened the door to a room with white furniture and orange carpeting, a strange choice of colour coordination I thought. I had never seen such an array of intense, flashy colours in a living setting before. Most living quarters were either dark and shady or completely white with sterility. _

_She suddenly turned to me, her eyes glimmering with some unexplained excitement as she raised a hand upwards in the air. "This... is my home."_

_My expression remained stoic, "Impressive. Did you have that clown Kakarrot choose the colours for you?"_

_All previous excitement drained from her face as it flattened to an unamused glare. "Look, buddy. I invited you here out of the goodness of my heart, so don't sit around and trash it unless you have better ideas."_

_"Heh. The goodness of your heart? I believe you alluded to me as "kind of cute".. Meaning you prefer me around for your own enjoyment."_

_The smallest hint of a blush crept onto her cheeks as her glare faltered,"Yeah, well that doesn't mean you can be a jerk, alright? Ignore the colours, they won't hurt you. It might actually do you some good with how crazy dark you are."_

_I didn't understand what she meant by that, but I didn't care. She gave me a small, investigative glance before proceeding to lead me around her quarters. The only room I was truly interested in learning about was the kitchen. The bedroom was a standard room with a neatly made bed and a large wooden chest of drawers that I assumed my training attire would be. Luckily, there were no outrageous colours to speak of in it. Bland and simple, as I preferred._

_Her bedroom ended up being across the damn hallway. There was nothing I could do about it, but it made me grimace with apprehension. I could already tell this woman was overbearing enough to interfere with my training, but I knew better than to allow this. Even if it was her house that I resided in temporarily, I had a fucking goal to reach, and nobody would stand in my way!_

_She kept bantering on as I calculated this. "...So if you need anything at all, feel free to ask, alright? Also, my dad owns the company but he is kind of settling down on projects and stuff, so he can aid in repairs as well. You can find him in his lab downstairs, or he's in the kitchen with my Mom early in the morning-"_

_"So where do I train?"_

_She stopped, obviously perturbed at being cut off. I didn't care about her meaningless drivel, I had work to do. "It's.. outside. Come on, I'll show you."_

_She led me back out the door to the grassy periphery of the grounds. Alongside the building were masses of plants that the boisterous creature from earlier was pouring water on. She saw me and winked, making me cringe inwardly with disgust. But at least she didn't open her mouth this time._

_Then, of all people I never wanted to relearn the existence of, that feline-loving fuck of a warrior appeared right in front of us with a weak glare pointed at my direction. I met it with a smirk, reveling in his obvious dislike of my presence._

_"What is HE doing here, Bulma?"_

_She cocked her head to the side, not liking being questioned. "I invited him to live here, Yamcha! What are YOU doing here?"_

_"I came by to say hi and see what's up.. I haven't heard from you really since I came back. No thanks to this asshole!"_

_"Yamcha, he is fighting with us to save the planet, and all you can think about is hearing from me? Come on, give me a break. You're not serious."_

_"Look, Bulma. I already died once, I really don't feel like dying again on account of you being gullible and even LIVING with someone who killed me! How could you? He's a murderer-"_

_"On the contrary, you weakling. I sent a Saibaman to slaughter your pathetic self because you were simply a waste of everyone's time. Now get out of our way, I have better things to do with my time than watch you plead for this woman's attention." I stepped forward to make my point, causing him to step back and gulp. My eyes flickered past the woman's as they stared at me with some sort of admiration. It was at that moment that I noticed their intense colouring. _

_Then she looked back at him haughtily. "He's right, Yamcha. He and the others have a lot of training to get done. Maybe you should do the same and stop worrying so much about me."_

_His face lowered, looking away with a pitiful shame. "Fine. I guess you're just too busy for me now that I was gone all this time. But it was his fault nonetheless!"_

_"Whatever, Yamcha! I have to go." She rolled her eyes and briskly walked past him. I seized the chance to deepen my smirk as his eyes turned into a heated glare at me._

_I kept my voice low and threatening as he seethed. "It's absolutely pathetic how much power she has over you. That is why I was able to kill you. You're WEAK!"_

_"Oh yeah? Well let's see you live with her for more than a week without seeing what I see in her. If you don't, then I absolutely pity YOU!"_

_I was taken aback by his statement, more out of surprise than disgust. "Um, HELLO?! Are you coming or not, Vegeta?"_

_"Coming," I answered under my breath, my smirk returning to deepen his displeasure. Then I walked away, satisfied. _

_But nothing could have prepared me for the satisfaction I met upon entering the training chamber. It seemed advanced enough to cater to all of my physical needs for stimulation and power control. It was large and spacious, and as I ignored her endless rambling, I could almost see myself ascending here._

How utterly, foolishly wrong I was.

* * *

Hey guys.. I know this one was short too, but I count it as a prologue for both. I promise promise promise they will be twice, three times as long as we get deeper into the story. I'm merely getting my feet wet again into this characters after about a year absence, so I am sooo immensely grateful for all the wonderful feedback and attention this fic has gotten so quickly.

Being in character is a very big deal for me as a bona-fide B/V enthusiast and writer, so feel free to leave any constructive (And I mean, CONSTRUCTIVE) criticism or encouragements concerning that or anything else you deem necessary.

All in all thanks for reading! The more reviews = the more motivation and excitement for me to get the next one out!

~Jckash03


	3. Relentless Remembrance

My entire body felt like it had been dropped into a pool of ice, his cool gaze having that insane effect on me. But I held it, trying to muster every ounce of convicted courage out of me to show him that he didn't intimidate me like everyone else. His eyes narrowed, having got my message. This made me smirk and I casually twirled away from the window.

But once I made a few steps toward my dresser, I was anything but casual about the fact that he was going straight to the kitchen and we'd end up in the same room.

What should I say? Kami, what should I WEAR?

Then I shot myself an exasperated look in the mirror. Really, Bulma? Are you this caught up in him that you care what you wear? Rolling my eyes, I put on a simple sundress and then decided that was way too much and way too needy for his attention, so I picked out some shorts and a tight shirt with generous cleavage.

There. Simple and yet still brings some attention. As much as I wished I didn't care, I wanted to feel his stare on me as soon as I walked into the room. I couldn't help it, the mystery behind his absence, hell, his entire BEING just grabbed me in such a way that I felt pathetic and naked.

Still, I walked into the kitchen as if it was just another morning. My eyes stay focused on the path to the kitchen, I wasn't daring to bring them up into his. As nonchalant as I was trying to project myself to be, my heart was pounding in my chest as my feet somehow managed to keep moving forward in numb steps through the room.

"Morning, Bulma! Look who joined us today!" My mother chirped as she poured batter onto the skillet. I rose an eyebrow and glanced at him.

"Fascinating. So where's Dad?" I asked in a dry voice, sounding bored in an obviously forced way. I may be a genius scientist but acting is not one of my fortes.

"Oh, you know where he is, darling. In the lab with the six Reflector-bots that Vegeta had a blast with this morning. Hehe, literally!"

My face dropped and my previous worry about looking good for the reckless bastard turned into seething anger for the overwork he was causing my father. "What?! Those are BRAND new, Vegeta. We just finished those two days ago!"

As he sipped orange juice from a glass, his dark eyes shifted to face mine from the table. As he sat the glass down, he licked his lips before snidely remarking, "Correction: I just finished them two hours ago."

"Ugh! You have no respect for anything anybody does for you, you know that! Also, , I specifically told you- no, demanded- that YOU come to ME when something that big needs to be done. My father can only do so much!" I slammed my hands on the table in front of him, merely a feet away. I could literally feel the heat of his intensifying glare emanating through the short distance.

"Well maybe if something spectacular were done for me, let's say, I don't know, a tool of essence to actually bring me to Super Saiyan, then maybe- JUST MAYBE- I would stand to give a damn. And as for going to you for anything, I would rather leap to my death into a ball of fucking fire before I exchange any verbal communication with someone as useless as you are."

Yes, it stung. Watching his nostrils flare and remembering him doing that same thing during our rendezvous, I had to swallow the pain down like sour liquor. But my expression remained sober, and I dipped my head even closer to his.

"Do not fuck with me, Vegeta. I will be assisting my father in the repairs, and if you break them again then you will bring them to me. Making my father exert himself at his age just to avoid me is bullshit, and I swear if you try to again, you won't have any appendages left to leap with let alone power up to Super Saiyan."

He then took his hand to pick up a pancake and began smacking his lips while regarding me with an unamused stare before replying through his food, "Are you done? Can I eat in peace?"

"You know, you may think it's an empty threat, Vegeta. But you don't even know what kind of toys I have of my own in that lab of mine. I'll prove just as _useless_ I really am."

With that, I walked away, making sure my hips swayed while a satisfied smirk rose to my lips.

* * *

After helping my dad with the repairs on the Reflector-bots, I decided to take a well-deserved break and have a cigarette with my tea on the balcony. Little did I know that the devil himself was on the grass below me stretching, mostly because I had headphones in and was blasting my newest favourite song. I gazed outward to the beautiful view of the city and the bright sun that was peeking in rays through overcast clouds. Even when the weather wasn't perfect, it was still breathtaking.

Next thing I knew, I was going to take another puff when the damn thing incinerated right before my eyes, nearly burning my manicured fingers! I gasped, letting it fall to its fate below the balcony as my eyebrows burrowed in confused. I turned and saw a grinning Vegeta, who else?

I ripped an earbud out of my ear with an angry frown. "What the hell was that for?"

"Whatever that horrendous object was in your hand, it smelled absolutely disgusting. Worse than you do right now. Aren't you the one who always bothers me to shower?"

I cocked my head to the side, glaring at him for his sarcastic humour. "Look, you could have moved. I wasn't bothering anybody. I'm taking a break from trying to fix YOUR mess, Vegeta. You don't have to be so rude to me."

I turned back to the view, letting my eyes betray me as they exposed just a tinge of the pain I'd been feeling concerning him in the last month of his silence. I felt stupid for letting him see even that, it's not like anything would or could make him care in the first place.

It must have sidelined him, because he cleared his throat in an awkward, gutteral way and said, "Well how about you take a break from taking breaks and just get it done, woman? I have nothing to do until those are repaired."

I let out a hearty giggle at his choice of words, at the fact he'd even be that pushy with me after all of this. "How about you go fuck yourself, Vegeta? Kami knows that's what you should've done in the first place instead of using me to filter your deprivation-"

Instantly, I was grabbed and twisted around to face him, my earphones ripped from me and thrown to the side as I was dangled over the fence of the balcony. My breath was caught in my throat as my wide eyes watched him shake with rage.

His breath danced all over my face in short gusts, his body completely pressed against mine to the inch. I briefly let my attention wonder down there to check if I felt an hardness, but all I felt were his numerous muscles pulsing against mine. Since I knew he was done being intimate with me ever again, I wondered if he would really decide to just hurt me this time and be done with it.

"How dare you speak to me that way when I have placed my trust in you idiots to make it possible for me to ascend. I have torn the ligaments from their sockets, ripped away flesh from bone, and watched my own men rape the adolescents of alien species before viciously murdering them in front of their fathers."

It came out, I couldn't help it. "Is-Is that what you're going to do to me?"

I was thrown again, this time softer and away from Vegeta. He simply tossed me to the back of him, his arm outstretched while his body remained in the same spot as before. I clutched my chest, breathing heavily as my body immediately regretted the new distance from his.

He brought his hand to his chest, balling it in a fist and standing upward, his head turning to face me as his onyx orbs bore into me.

"Don't EVER compare yourself to them. You will never be as pure and innocent as they were at the time of their attack..."

"Oh yeah? Then what am I, Vegeta? Tell me. Bless me with your holier than thou opinion of me since I am so unworthy of anything else from you! Except daily abuse and your disgusting lack of gratitude."

His eyes narrowed to slits, his voice seething with fury at her words. "Disgusting lack of gratitude, eh? You, this boastful and vulgar creature of a woman, stand before me with what resembles royalty on this mudball planet. Yet you've done nothing to earn it, and your sense of entitlement to it, to me, to everything you want is what repels me. What's ironic is that what you have on this planet would be looked at as poverty on another."

My arms have been folded at this point, and I tap my foot with pretended impatience before snapping, "Are you done yet? Can I smoke in peace?"

He sprang forward, pinning me to the wall behind me with both his arms on either side of my head, causing cracks in the wall next to me. "Mark my words, woman. I've been done. Do not look at me, do not speak to me, and definitely, do NOT try to fuck with me."

Just as I was revelling in his elevated temperature, desperately trying to block out his words of condemnation, I felt him leave as fast as he came before he stopped in his tracks at the edge of the balcony.

"As for your asinine suggestion, the only person who will be fucking themselves tonight is you. The reason I refused to partake in the rapings of those girls was because I don't consider weak, low-life creatures as potential mates."

Confusion wrapped itself around my spinning mind as the intoxicating effect of his presence wore off and his words settled in. Was that a hidden compliment? Or did he say I'd be alone tonight because I myself wasn't a potential mate either?

Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair and decided a shower was due. I was too tired for his games, so I let it go and just relished in the fact that I had him to my own enjoyment for almost a half hour, even if he was nasty.

* * *

I slammed the bedroom door behind me, making sure to leave it cracked at its hinges. That woman's infuriating voice echoed in my head, making me hate her as much as I hated myself for being plagued by it.

_"Is-Is that what you're going to do to me?"_

I had heard such trembling fear before from countless, pathetic weaklings whose planet I was purging with my group of comrades from under Frieza's command. Still, the sadistic pleasure I got from snapping their necks made me feel beyond his tyranny. But those scared, shaking words never once affected me as much as they had coming from her lips.

I found myself watching the ceiling as flashbacks of those years ran through my head. The senseless killing, the demented enjoyment I derived from all the destruction. Somehow, they validated the sense of failure I felt as a child losing my own kingdom. It was the reason I felt such resentment towards her for never having lost what she grew up with and was entitled to by birth alone.

She had no idea what it was like to lose something, really feel abandoned by life and fate itself.

I had strived so hard to attain my right to the ascension of Super Saiyan, with no avail thanks to her or her father. And the only thing she was preoccupied with was getting what she wanted at every right and left turn in life. I wanted to shake her from her own foundation, make her feel the wretched pain that was really out there, away from the protective veil she called her "friends".

I heard water pouring from a distance, knowing that she was in the bathroom by sensing her ki, what little she possessed. About time she practiced what she preached by always chiding me for not bathing enough. I laid there with my hands behind my head as time passed, knowing by now that she was probably naked and slipping into hot water, feeling a contented relaxation come over her that she did no hard work to deserve.

The image in my mind didn't faze me, didn't even stir a blood cell to travel south to my genital regions. But that image was built on the memory I had been spending an entire month avoiding in my head. The image of her beneath me, pinned under me like some trapped animal in heat.

I clenched the bedsheets within my fists, cursing myself aloud for letting myself even think about it, about her at all.

But that smell of her dampened sex, her glistening blue locks that slickened with the coital sweat on her temples, and those hazy eyes that locked into mine with the heated lust of a deprived fiend-

NO. I will not give in to such a debilitating distraction. I have done enough damage with what had transpired with that baka, I wouldn't continue to let it impede me once more.

I sprang up from the bed, striding through the hallway and past the bathroom door. I was about to strike it with my fist before her ki level suddenly flared sky high, the same way it had that night...

I froze. And I listened.

As much as my hardened groin reveled in it, I wish I never had.

* * *

Hmmm I think I will stop here just to drive you guys crazy. But I promise you'll find out what Bulma ended up thinking about in the bathtub, and the more reviews I get, the sooner you will!

Thanks for all your guys' feedback! I hope that this chapter's dialogue was to your liking, and there will be much more coming as the story builds.

~Jckash03


	4. A Lesson in Love and Loss

His words still hung around in my head like the recently formed clouds, dark and mystic, in the pre-winter sky. I hated his ill opinion of me, I hated that look of repulsion that I convince myself time and time again that he forced onto that mug of his, and I ultimately hated the exact precision he had in avoiding me. I couldn't even take a bath without envisioning his hands roaming past my thighs and his fingers invading my very core, sliding into me with advertent ease as his eyes pierced mine to watch my integrity and self-control release all over him.

But what I really hated... Was the daunting possibility that I was about to lose everything I ever loved.

My mind snapped in realization that such a thought could mean Vegeta but- No, what I meant was my friends, my family... Maybe even my life.

Over the years, I had been so certain that the wonderful and adventurous times we had would last forever. Even when things got rough, REALLY rough like on Namek, Goku and the gang always pulled through. Now I gulp the copious amount of saliva gathered from the inevitable nausea at the thought of this one enemy becoming the exception...

Shaking my head, I mustered the energy to sit up in bed and glance at the clock. Eleven a.m. It seemed the season was already starting to affect my internal clock, either that or I was experiencing some pre-depression symptoms. But my appetite was normal, completely voracious as it is when I wake up in the mornings from my ten-hour slumber. I tried to shove the troubling thoughts about our unknown future back under the rug in my head as I kicked my feet into fluffy slippers and made my way downstairs to the kitchen.

Still yawning, I shuffled through, my eyes scanning the downstairs floor for any sign of the male beast of a housemate I acquired. I rolled my eyes at my constant awareness that he even existed, let alone was nowhere in sight. I poured some coffee, spilling most of it down its container and onto the counter in my half-awake state. Grumbling about gravity and its cruel nature, I turned around and was instantly met with a hostile, black glare that suddenly widened as the contents of my coffee cup splashed out onto absolutely everything it could land on.

Those eyes belonged to none other than Vegeta, who stared wordlessly with silent rage at the mess that just ended up on his blue spandex, before snapping back up to mine, which I'm sure held a classic version of a deer caught in headlights. I quickly turned around to the sink, making a hand towel wet with cold water as the stammering words fell out of my mouth without any grace whatsoever, "Vegeta, you scared me-"

Then I was smashed between the counter and his body, my surprisingly existent abdominal muscles aching in protest at the pressure he was applying. I felt the warm breath snake across my neck, making the thin tendrils of baby blue hair at the bottom of my scalp spring to life. I could literally feel the world shift as his mouth formed into its usual malicious grin full of amusement at my expense.

"Heh.. You think I scared you then, you just WAIT!" He rasped in my ear, my body betraying me and twitching upward in a cowardly jump that made my cheeks flush with instant embarrassment, which only delighted him further. Still, I had to just shove that under my mental rug too, because the next thing I knew I was putting the wet cloth to his arm, patting it without even making eye contact and focusing only on that one motion.

He froze, very firmly. I knew if I looked at his face then, it would hold absolutely nothing to it except maybe the rare spark of surprise at the unexpected sensation of cold against his searing hot flesh, and the tiny yet ineffectual amount of pressure I myself applied this time. He tolerated this for about a minute, and I'm guessing he was only allowing that much time to go by because he was still trying to decide on what to do with himself.

Finally... I looked up, like a lamb shakily trying to please the wolf who is about to devour her. I knew I was more confident than this, damnit! Anger and self-doubt began a torturous tornado of conflicting emotion in me until he began to take the top portion of his of spandex off. My eyes widened as I straightened up, and then it was me who had no idea what to do with herself.

He held out his shirt for a moment, staring deep into my eyes as if he was still totally undecided on his next move before dropping his shirt onto the floor in front of me. I had barely looked down to acknowledge it when I heard his next words enter my ears with infuriating command.

"You will wash this as I await your mother to announce my lunch. Got it?"

When I looked up, he was gone.

* * *

No, that was not what I had the physical desire to do. Every cell in my deprived Saiyan body was literally screaming for me to pick her up and toss her onto the counter and demand she lick every drop of that putrid liquid she so clumsily spilled onto me before I would swiftly disrobe from my training attire and REALLY make her ki spike...

And then I would have her wash them.

Alas, I was more than decided on the fact that she does not do well for me when it comes to my progression in the gravity chamber. Not only is she a distraction, but the desires I already had given into had done nothing but make it worse. Now it has turned into a little game of cat and mouse, and my ego feeds off both her aroused excitement and her ultimate disappointment when I don't do exactly what she wants.

She has already lead a life of luxury up to this point anyway. I believed she was spoiled enough as it was, why give in only to make that worse? Then again, her morale wasn't even in my concerns, I just didn't want it to affect my training any more negatively than it already has. All of these thoughts turned into yet another scolding inner monologue directed at myself for still not acquiring the legendary Super Saiyan. Kakarrott was NOT going to steal my birthright...

I simply would not allow it.

So the woman's obnoxious mother beckoned me for the mid-day meal, but at least she proved useful in producing a nutritious and even edible one that would supply me with a sufficient amount of energy

to at least attempt the ascension again. My daily life was slowly evolving into a monotonous tirade of trying, failing, barely sleeping, waking, eating, and trying once more.

It seemed that woman was the only source of entertainment around here.

But since my genitals couldn't help but get involved and fall prey to the evolution of my being, I just could not afford such a luxury. Luckily, she was nowhere to be found, not even by her ridiculously punitive ki. As tempting as it was to keep up the chase and toy with the woman's ridiculous feelings, I had better things to focus on. I had a destiny to achieve, an identity to embrace. I was bound to defeating those puny Androids and becoming the strongest Saiyan of all! Just as my title as Prince deemed me so...

After the mid-day meal, I went upstairs and smirked at the sight of my spandex neatly folded on the edge of my bed. I picked it up and put it on, about to leave the bedroom to resume my training activities before catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror through my peripheral vision, seeing more skin than just my arms. Eyebrows burrowed, I step closer to the mirror, turning fully to the front of it to examine my attire a little closer...

That damned woman had cut two holes into the shirt, revealing my two nipples like I was some kind of exposed prostitute!

She had tried to make a complete mockery of me. Well, forget it. I ripped the shirt off, replacing it with another and stormed out of my bedroom.

This meant war.

* * *

I let out a sneaky snicker, knowing the exploding stomps coming in my general direction meant he had discovered the two holes boring into what would be his nipples. Was it immature? Sure, but he had humiliated the crap out of me earlier! I couldn't stand the effect he had on me sometimes, and especially if he could sense it.

"What in the HELL did you think you were doing after I had clearly demanded that you clean up YOUR mess, woman? Did that overgrown brain of yours miscalculate the consequences there are for such blasphemy?" He roared after storming into my office, holding the damaged garment up.

I daintily stood up, eyes wide and scheming bright as the mirth of my next remark shone in them, "Well, I am sure there are plenty of pink ' ' shirts available for your use, Prince Vegeta."

He growled, knowing damn well I would never call him Prince unless I was really trying to push his buttons with my acidic sarcasm. My grin deepened with his scowl.

"I will NOT be made a fool of!"

I sighed dramatically, pretending to take a way bigger interest in my nails, "A little late for that..."

"This is a waste of my time. Now. Are you going to properly provide me with adequate clothing?"

"Provide yourself, Vegeta, I'm not your personal stylist!"

Suddenly, a devious smirk appeared on his face and his onyx orbs flashed with nothing but pure mischief. "Fine, then. I will seek an alternative route."

And he walked out, in that obnoxiously confident stride of his.

Letting out a breath and shaking my head, I returned to the drafts my father left on my desk. I still couldn't help but keep wondering what he meant by that; Vegeta never let down while demanding something be done for him. I surrendered my thoughts for a second to take a swig of my coffee to find that it had gotten cold. Blanching, I got up and went to the kitchen to get a refill.

"Oh my!" I heard my mother squeal loudly, her cheeks blanketed with red as she peered out the window with a hand to her mouth. I stopped pouring my coffee to go over and take a look.

"Mom?" I asked as my eyes looked out to see a bare naked Vegeta throwing kicks and punches as fast as lightning in the air for the entire company to see. Not only did I feel a somersault in my groin at the sight of him in his nude glory, but my eyes widened in complete shock and horror at what everyone was being subjected to throughout the offices in the building. Apparently the grip on my searing coffee loosened too, because that ended up crashing on the floor with a deafening shatter that neither my Mom nor I even noticed.

Damn, he was good.

* * *

"Vegeta! Get down here this instant and put some damn clothes on!" The woman's shriek came from down below. I stopped what I was doing, my hands landing on my hips as I let out a cackle of victory at her enraged face. Kami, how that woman's frustration aroused nothing but sheer delight inside of me.

"I don't know, woman, will I be getting something that actually covers all of me? Apparently you wanted me to show a little skin. So... Here I am." I gloated at her as I floated down to her level. She frowned, but I could tell she was trying her damnedest to not avert her gaze downward.

"Hmpf! No one wants to see that, Vegeta. Least of all me. Don't flatter yourself."

"Well it isn't any different than the presumption you make when wearing that barely there swim attire you put on just to laze about under the sunlight in some strange attempt to alter that terribly pale complexion of yours."

Her eyebrows dug deeper into her face, "I don't care what you think Vegeta, I just want you to get dressed! This is so humiliating to my entire staff!"

I scoffed. "Let them look. You've already had the pleasure of viewing this before, anyway. It's their turn."

She rolled her eyes and turned to leave, but stopped to side glance at me once more. "I will get you what you need if you just shut up and follow me."

"Now that's what I like to hear."

As I was dressing myself, I looked up to find that she was still there with her back against the wall, staring off into nothing. My annoyance tweaked, trying to ignore the pathetically dismal expression on her face.

"You're still here?" I asked.

Apparently she was so deep in her own thoughts, something I had yet to witness, that she literally ignored my question to speak them- Unfortunately. "You really think we have a chance to defeat the Androids? Is three years enough?"

"You really doubt me, do you? Not that your opinion of my strength is my concern, but you must know by now that I WILL be stronger than Kakarott when this is over. So not only do the Androids stand a chance, but neither does your dearest friend."

Her eyes crept up to mine, full of scrutiny and question. "Well whether I doubt you depends on if you're on our side."

I focused on fitting the white gloves to my hands, considering how to answer such a ridiculous statement. "Put it this way: I'm neither on it nor against it. Now if you'll excuse me, I've had enough of these shenanigans taking up precious training time."

As I walked past her, I stopped briefly only to say, "Perhaps you should worry more what you are truly contributing to this."

* * *

And I did. Sitting on my window sill with the small of my back already beginning its dull ache of protest, my head suffered an influx of anxiety-ridden thoughts. Everything seemed to be shifting into a doomed, dark outlook so fast that I had no time to catch my breath or even ponder what I could do to stop it, or help it for that matter. I thought of my friends, all the adventures we had been through and felt a huge wave of nostalgic sadness fill me. What if that was all over with? What if I could never get that back with this impending danger arriving in three years?

What if I was getting too old for it?

I let out a long sigh as the night sky seemed to respond by transitioning to a darker shade of navy blue. How much longer would I be able to enjoy the Earth sky like this? How long until it didn't even exist?

I shook my head and made my way to the bathroom. I knew such questions were both futile and depressing, but that's exactly how I felt inside anyway. No matter how I looked at it, there was so little I felt that I could do.

Washing my face, I stared at my reflection for a long time. I noted the fortunate absence of wrinkles but studied the lack of firmness that was making its presence in the skin around my eyes. I lamented the shadows of stress and sleep-deprivation under my eyes and the bloodshot veins from holding back too many tears. My head began to throb so I turned my back to the cruel mirror and folded my arms. I didn't want to be left behind in all of this. I didn't want to lose anybody.

But I was, and it all started within the next hour.

"Hey babe." Came Yamcha's voice over the phone. I raised an eyebrow of instant skepticism.

"And what are you calling me for? Finally bored with your baseball groupies? That isn't going to help you guys in the battle against the Androids, you know."

"Pfft, come on Bulma! I wasn't calling for a guilt trip. I wanted to see if you felt like going out-"

"How can you think about partying at a time like this? We have so much on the line here, and you just want to GO OUT?!"

"Well, yeah we do, but that's in three years. That's a pretty long time Bulma, don't you thi-"

"NO. I don't. I for one take this very seriously, like I did about our relationship, but I am the only one in this conversation who knows how to do that. It's almost like I'm the only one who knows how to be an adult around here-"

"Yeah you sure do take stuff seriously, moving Vegeta in and all."

I balked, my mouth gaping at his nerve. "Well at least he knows the importance of getting stronger and has some damn discipline! You could use a few pointers if you ask me."

"Seriously? You're going to defend that monster? He killed me!"

"Get over it, Yamcha. You're no model citizen either. You can't even stay faithful."

He paused, knowing he had run out of excuses a long time ago as my expression remained dark. "...Yeah but Bulma, I'm sorry for that. I just wasn't ready to settle down quite yet and I wanted to get all of that out of me before, you know, we took that extra step-"

"Well congratulations, you just made sure it never happens. You don't take anything seriously, not even me, NOT EVEN OUR FRIENDS!"

"Fine. I'm a horrible person, I guess. Worse than a mass murderer like Vegeta. Are you done?"

"I am. I have been for a while." The words sprang from my trembling lips as I felt the entire foundation of what had started as a blossoming infatuation between two teenagers ended as a bitter, irreconcilable difference between two very different adults.

"Alright then. I'll see you around, Bulma." His sullen voice brought the image of his sad puppy expression in my head, throwing guilt into the mix of ambivalent emotions of anger, sadness, and loneliness that were already swirling around in my aching head.

And then he hung up.

My eyes squoze shut, forcing a previously building tear to slide down my cheek. With all of the fear and desperation in me already, I just couldn't keep my shoulders from shaking as sobs wracked my body. I had never been much of a cryer before, even other times that he and I had "ended" it. But this time, it was different somehow. Somehow, I knew...

It was really over.

I didn't know how to feel exactly. With everything else going on with me, I didn't know if it was other emotions about other things spilling into this situation.. I was a scientist, not a psychologist. I could work unthinkable magic with crunching numbers and equations, but my heart was never something I could configure let alone figure out. That was probably why I had stayed with Yamcha for so long. It was a lot easier than having to risk anything with someone unfamiliar.

Then Vegeta flashed into my mind. He had never been a candidate for anything in my life except someone that I could quarrel with during bouts of boredom, and someone who was so defiant to everything by thinking he was above the law and everyone else that I couldn't help but become easily infuriated with him. I couldn't stand his personality, but I would never deny he was decently attractive. Even if he was ugly on the inside, sometimes he would have something other than a mask of disgust on his face and look passable for cute.

Still, it did nothing to ease my qualms about my current situation. I felt like everything was falling apart and no cat-and-mouse game with Vegeta was going to change that. He was barely even on our side.

I threw the phone across the room after a surge of adrenaline ripped through me with hot rage at the world and plopped on my bed, letting out everything that I had bottled up the entire week. Even though it was mutual and for the best, letting go of a decade-long relationship was like ripping out a dead but familiar limb. It still fucking hurt. I peeked out from my soaked pillow and saw an old picture of me and Yamcha in a frame, instantly slamming it over flat down on the side table.

Then a banging rained down on my bedroom door. What a fantastic time for visitors. I knew it wasn't my Mom because she wouldn't have knocked in a way that would literally loosen the hinges, and her high-pitched voice would've accompanied it. And my Dad always knew better than to bother me when I was in my room.

So that left only one usual suspect.

Good. I needed a target to take this all out on. So I got up, literally stomped to the door and swung it open, cheeks flaring red to Vegeta's perturbed expression with his arms folded. "Woman, is this break of yours finished? It's going on a preposterous twenty-two hours-"

He stopped when he finally took notice of my face. I doubt he knew what it meant because all I could read was a thin veil of confusion on his face. "Great, so you're starting to learn our time system."

I turned before another tear could form on my already wet eyes, pretending to sort the stuff on the top of my dresser. Then I saw the various pictures of the gang, Yamcha and me, my parents. So I ripped them off the wall, one by one, throwing them onto the floor.

His eyes shifted between the floor and me, no doubt trying to decipher what my actions meant. "I do not understand. I guess that is a no?"

"Yes, Vegeta, it's a Kami-damn NO. Now get out of my room!" I screeched at him, throwing a picture at him that only swayed in the air on its way down to the carpet below. His eyes watched it with a flash of sarcastic regard and then came back up to mine as my chest heaved.

"Is this really what you are going to contribute to this? A tantrum like a dissatisfied child?" He asked, only his voice was a couple notches less venomous. I stopped, breathing out of my nose and looking away.

"I don't know what else to do. I'm already losing everything..."

"First of all, you haven't suffered a damn thing. Yet. Second, what you are choosing to do will not accomplish a damn thing."

"Well, what then Vegeta?! I can't go TRAIN with you! I can't go build a time machine! I can't go find before he makes these things because YOU wouldn't fucking let me! What the hell do you want me to do?"

"How about not getting so theatrical for once...? And while you're at it, fix my damn toys."

"How about you not break them?"

"Well then you'd have nothing to do," He replied with a smirk and turned to leave as a pang of shame hit me due to my outbreak right in front of him. As per usual, he stopped.

"Just so you know, loss is not something that kills you. It is something that makes you stronger, but only if you let it. It will make you harder too, so then you're ready for anything that actually can take the only thing you have left... Pride."

* * *

Ahhhhhhhhhh I'm going to stop here. I didn't realize how little involvement I had put in the first three chapters, well, how little material PERIOD. But here was some more. I am sososososososo SO sorry for the delay. Christmas came, a new semester came, and a new love for me is already a month in, so I've been a busy girl! I won't let it get that bad again though. I know a lot of people have complained to me about my fickle nature, in and out of , so I'm looking to change that this year. It's my resolution. :)

As well as to get some reviews! Keep 'em coming!

Thanks for all that I have gotten though. You guys rock! Next chapter, Bulma dries her tears and propositions our favourite Prince. :]

~Jckash0Three


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